Improved clothes-pin



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUFUS S. SANBORN, OF RIPON,VVISOONSINr IMPROVED CLOTHES-PIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 57,977, dated September 11, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that l, RUFUs S. SANBORN, of Ripon, in the county of Fond du Lac and State of Wisconsin, have invented an Improved Clothes-Pin; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and correct deseription of the same, reference. being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my improved clothes-pin complete. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the male jaw of said pin, and Fig. 3 a similar view of its female jaw.

The same part is marked by the same letter wherever it occurs.

vThe nature of this invention consists in bringing the jaws of hinged clothes-pins together by means of a draw-spring of indiarubber applied around that end of the pin which grasps the clothes-line, in the peculiar mode of attaching that spring to the pin, and in a new form of hinge, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

To enable others to make and use my improved clothes-pin, I will proceed to describe its construction, referring to the drawings, whereon A marks the male jaw of the pin B, the female jaw, and C the rubber draw-spring. The male jaw has a cylindrical projection, a, which fits into a cavity, c, of corresponding form in the female jaw, to form the hinge of the pin. A slit, b, in the projection a receives a thin metal plate, d, inserted in the cavity c in the position shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose of preventing the hin ge from slipping apart sidewise.

The jaws A B are kept in contact by the action of the spring C. This spring is formed of an ordinary annular rubber band of small size, such as is commonly used for holding together a bundle of papers. The jaws being brought together so that the cylindrical. projection a enters the cavity c, the Vholes e e will be opposite one another, and the band C is passed through them so far that a loop of it i projects on each side the pin. These loops are then drawn over the closed end of the pin and doubled as often as may be necessary to give the required tension to the spring to make the cavity D grasp the clothes-line with suflicient force to hold securely the objects hung upon it.

Pins made in this way are cheap, efficient, and little liable to get ont of order.

I am aware that clothes-pins have been made with hinges and springs, and these I do not claim, broadly; but,

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The clothes-pin constructed with au elastic band passing through apertures in the jaws and two or more times around them, and with a plate or plates inserted in the joint to prevent lateral motion, substantially as described.

rlhe above speciti-cation of my said invention signed and witnessed at Ripon this 16th day of February, A. D. 1866.

RUFUS S. SANBORN.

Witnesses RUnUs HENRY SANBORN, E. B. PRIDE. 

